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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177106">"love may make you blind, kid," but i wouldn't mind at all!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefavourite/pseuds/thefavourite'>thefavourite</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>my favorite lyrics series [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dead Poets Society (1989), Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Actor Neil, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Gen, I Want That Twink Obliterated, Idiots in Love, Lesbian Ginny, M/M, Musical References, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Rivals to Lovers, Singer Todd, Spring Awakening Dialogue, Spring Awakening References, Trans Chris, Trans Todd, bi charlie, bi knox, enby charlie, enby ginny, everyone is a stoner, gay meeks, gay neil, gay todd, lesbian chris, musical nerds, musical theatre, pan pitts, todd has some PIPES</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:54:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,489</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefavourite/pseuds/thefavourite</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's the bitch of living!<br/>With nothing going on.<br/>Just the bitch of living,<br/>asking 'WHAT WENT WRONG?'<br/>Do they think we want this?<br/>Oh...who knows?"<br/>- Spring Awakening, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨</p><p>welton academy is one of THE most prestigious liberal arts high schools in the entire nation, and a competitive gene runs deep in the blood of its student body. this is proven to be no different when two rival groups of companions go toe to toe for this year's production of 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. except for, well, the fact that this version of the beloved musical is a teeny bit altered - as in even gayer than before. who knew?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Charlie Dalton/Knox Overstreet, Ginny Danbury/Chris Noel, Gloria/Tina, Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s)/Original Male Character(s), Steven Meeks/Gerard Pitts, Stick/Spaz, Todd Anderson/Neil Perry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>my favorite lyrics series [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732972</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. i'm reachin for the heights, and chasin' all the lights that shine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>meet the welton runts.</p><p>title taken from 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘯 from la la land.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Answer for the accusations I lay at your feet, or prepare to bleed, good man!"</p><p>It was the last Tuesday in January, which was known by nearly every single teenager at Welton Academy as The Most Chaotic Day of the Entire Fucking Year, and for good reason, too. For around the last five years at the school, the theatre department supervisor, John Keating, would take either the last Monday or Tuesday of January to do callbacks for the spring musical, which was eternally the most sought-after production of the school year as his choices were consistently impeccably-creative. Since he made <em>Rent</em> his show of choice in his first year as a teacher at the school 2015, his polarizing presence was imprinted onto the minds of both annoyed teachers and electrified students alike. Every year since then, the second semester musical had his special touch to it - 2016 was <em>Hairspray</em>, then 2017 brought forth <em>Next to Normal</em>, with the next two years following up with <em>Fun Home</em> and <em>The Book of Mormon</em>. However, somehow, this year was an exception to that unspoken rule. Even though the production that had been decided on would certainly send shockwaves through dozens of Welton parents, it was not chosen nor to be directed by Mr. Keating; instead, rather, he joyfully slid those reins over to his protégé, the refreshingly sharp and warm junior Neville "Spaz" Longfellow. After a painstaking two weeks of anticipation, the theatre department's kids were thoroughly rocked by his final decision of the beloved 2006 rock musical <em>Spring Awakening</em>.</p><p>━━━</p><p>As it was the last Tuesday in January, eighteen year-old Welton newbie Todd Anderson was planted with his six closest pals, Knox Overstreet, Chris Noel, Steven Meeks, Marisa Keane, Tina Alexander and Noah "Stick" Stickler, in their most-frequented spot around the corner from the academy's ridiculously-large blackbox amphitheater, anticipating their individual character callbacks. To pass the strung-along clumps of minutes that had mutated into lagging hours of nothingness, Knox, Chris and Stick had joined each other in a rendition of their favorite songs from one of the most famous musicals of all time - they were currently on an elongated edition of the penultimate feud song Your Obedient Servant, with Chris having snagged the duet's more aggressive role, Aaron Burr, leaving Knox as the song's slightly-wiser and timid Alexander Hamilton.</p><p>"Do you want to sing a specific part to me again?" Meeks had patiently asked Todd, snapping the Anderson boy out of his poignant daze from observing his dramatic companions.</p><p>"Oh! Sorry!" Todd muttered, pulling his gaze back upwards to meet the teenager's eyes. "Here, I'll just- uh- look over the sheet again." An erratic sense of anxiousness rolled off of Todd's tone. In the last forty minutes alone, he had quite possibly scanned the callback for the very lead roles sheet around roughly sixty times. As much as he attempted to hold himself in check, his anxiety was rearing its ugly head. However, it was reassuring to know that - just as he suspected - the paper was, well, exactly the same as it had been when it was posted maybe seven hours beforehand.</p>
<hr/><p>"Alright," Spaz pulled theatre department darling Neil Perry's focus inward. "For this audition...I'll be having you do something a little- hmm, how do I say this...<em>different.</em>"</p><p>When Neil arrived at Welton as a bright-eyed fourteen year-old, he nearly immediately took the theatre department by storm, snatching up both lead and supporting roles alike and dazzling audiences in every capacity. As a Freshman, he portrayed both Lenny Ganz in <em>Rumors </em>in the fall play, as well as Gabe Goodman in the spring musical. He followed that up by playing Giles Gorey in <em>The Crucible</em>, along with Christian Bechdel in <em>FH</em>. However, the year that brought forth what was likely his largest break at the school was when he was a junior and performed as the tragic forgotten son Conrad Jarrett in <em>Ordinary People</em> and cynical, superiority complex-revolving Elder Price, the protagonist of <em>The Book of Mormon</em>. A rarity for teenagers in America, no matter whether their acting prowess could match up to Neil's spectacular set of talents, Neil was nominated for two National Adolescent Ensemble Awards - or, more commonly known as the <em>Tommys </em>for one of the biggest winners of the coveted awards to come out a star, Thomas Bartlet - one for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play and the other for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical. Seamlessly, winning the former of the duo was an easy feat for the boy, but somehow, fate had its way with him as he lost out on the latter to the future Welton transfer who, at that moment, was Balincrest's biggest starlet, Todd Anderson. The timid, humbled boy sent shockwaves throughout his stepping stone school when he won a Tommy for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical after what was most commonly described as <em>an absolutely <span class="u">electrifying</span></em> <em>portrayal </em>of Bobby in <em>Company</em>. </p><p>The funniest detail out of the whole night - Neil's best friend Charlie Dalton shooting apple cider out of their nose when he won aside - for Neil had to be the fact that the only two musical performances of the <em>entire </em>banquet to receive standing ovations were his rendition of <em>BOM </em>showstopper <em>I Believe</em> and his category rival's performance of what is maybe the most famous song from <em>Company</em>, <em>Being Alive</em>. </p><p>"Well," Neil started to speak. "How <em>different </em>do you mean, Spaz?" </p><p>"I need to know your emotional range, but <em>not </em>with a song from <em>SA</em>."</p><p>"I thought you <em>knew</em> my emotional range. Did you not see <em>Ordinary People</em>?"</p><p>"Oh, geez," there was a sharp scoff climbing up in Spaz's voice, which Neil could easily detect. "No, Neil. I mean your <em>vocal </em>emotional range."</p><p>Just as Neil slipped a shortened mumble in agreement under his breath, a voice that belonged to neither of the two was speaking.</p><p>"Neil," senior Jack "Beans" Hughes, who would be serving as the vocal instructor of the show, spoke from beside Spaz. "What he means is that we want you to sing the bridge from <em>For Forever</em>. You know that one, right?"</p><p>Wordlessly, Neil nodded to signify a <em>yes</em>, as if he had not been internally yelling <em>O</em><em>f COURSE I know Dear Evan Hansen</em>.</p><p>Just outside of the amphitheater entrance sat Charlie, along with Neil's other closest friends, Ginny Danburry, Gerard Pitts, Gloria Browning and Emaline Keane, each of whom had been excitedly switching amongst themselves in listening into Neil's callback. However, amidst their silent observing, a sharp buzz shook the group out of their snooping as they were on the receiving end of a text to their group chat.</p><p><em>welton's own andrew rannells</em>: guys</p><p><em>charlie brown</em>: heyo neil, what's up? r u done?</p><p><em>welton's own andrew rannells</em>: not quite. i have a question for u guys</p><p><em>gloria gloria</em> <em>hallelujah</em>: all ears</p><p><em>welton's own andrew rannells</em>: did i get called back for ernst or is spaz just crazy</p><p><em>charlie brown</em> is typing . . .</p><p><em>welton's own andrew rannells</em>: ugh nvm,, gtg</p><p><em>welton's own andrew rannells </em>has logged off.</p><p>In a perfect sense of harmony with each other, the five companions passed a gaze of suspicion amongst each other's yes, yet quickly found themselves shrugging it off.</p>
<hr/><p>"Now, don't get <em>too </em>nervous about this," Spaz insisted, staring from his spot where the orchestra was usually placed up to the increasingly-anxious Neil and Todd on stage. "It's basically just a chemistry...screen test-type thing, alright?"</p><p>Forcing down a sizable lump in his throat, Todd nodded, causing his scene partner to exchange the gesture. Following a few moments of anticipation as Spaz introduced the format of what the two would be doing together in the short performance he was requesting from them (in all, he had repeatedly insisted that they would most likely <em>not </em>be performing as Hanschen and Ernst in the musical, but rather, he had been consistently wondering how well they could romantically work together in a scene like <em>The Word of Your Body [Reprise]</em>), Neil and Todd had been muttering some snide comments amongst themselves as their director exchanged words with his stage manager, Elle McFarland, and Beans. </p><p>"You sure we won't- y'know, <em>fall in love </em>when we kiss in the scene?" Neil cracked, earning a quick chuckle in response from Todd.</p><p>"Hah! Nice try." Todd said, instinctively flexing out his fingers as time continued to pass them by.</p><p>The moments continued to drift by in that vein - Neil and Todd swiping jeers and allowing themselves to momentarily stare over towards their continously chatting leader - until Spaz finally caught their attention again.</p><p>"So, whenever you two are ready!" Elle joyfully spoke, easing another layer or two of unspoken tension that laid upon the two teenage boys onstage off.</p><p>Clearing his throat, Todd detected his gaze catching onto Neil's as a crushing wave of heat smacked against his cheekbones. Attempting to relieve himself of his anxieties, he chuckled his rigidness off in a single, sustained breath, as he reached his eyes up towards Neil's otherworldly chocolate brown saucers.</p><p><em>Come, cream away with the bliss</em>, Todd nearly slipped into a comatose state of disbelief as he began to sing one of the most sweetly loving musical pieces to ever grace the theatre. <em>Travel the world within my lips</em>.</p><p>It was quite the challenge, of course, for the Anderson boy to lead the scene, but as soon as Neil's voice filled in the voids sitting amongst them, Todd was fighting off an incredibly genuine grin.</p><p>"Mmm, I know," he had spoken, sending off heartfelt looks towards Neil as they ran through the dialogue of the scene. "When we look back, thirty years from now, tonight will seem <em>unbelievably </em>beautiful."</p><p>"And, in the meantime...?" In a short sequence of small words, Neil conveyed what could only be described as thousands of emotions at once.</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>Thank god Neil was so perfectly fearless, because otherwise, Todd would have never had the impeccable confidence he required to close the gap between the characters.</p><p>In any other occasion, Neil would have allowed a few seconds to drift by before he pulled himself out of the oral entanglement and exhaled. But this time, somehow, an energy was sticking the pair together as their oxygen transformed into some sort of shared atmosphere. In their small, shared vicinity, Todd could not help but observe the wondrous detail that, of everything he could have noticed in the world, Neil's lips tasted of an almost sickeningly sweet cinnamon.</p><p>Oh god. He was doing <em>exactly </em>what Neil had joked to him about, no less than twelve minutes before that very moment. Perhaps it was not even a <em>moment </em>- serenading this boy and longingly meeting his embrace made him feel as though all of the universe had screeched to a spectacular halt.</p><p>Was <em>this </em>the <em>bitch of living </em>those German schoolboys had been referring to?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. don't come on too strong..."come home with me?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>the cast list is finally posted, setting off a series of aftershocks among the kids in theatre program; neil and todd bond over shared interests and fascinating stories.</p><p>title taken from 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, from hadestown.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>a couple things!</p><p>so, in the future, i will be aiming for 1,500-3,500 words a chapter, unless it is a special case and purposefully longer than the others. this one is a bit shorter than i was hoping it would be, though, but that is only due to the fact that it is more of another introduction to many of the main characters. however, i sincerely do hope you guys enjoy this one just the way it is now. </p><p>also, here are everyone's pronouns, sexualities and genders identities, in case anyone was wondering &lt;3</p><p>- neil: he/him, gay, cis<br/>- todd: he/they, gay, trans<br/>- charlie: they/them, bisexual, non-binary<br/>- knox: he/him, bisexual, cis<br/>- ginny: they/she, lesbian, non-binary<br/>- chris: she/her, lesbian, trans<br/>- meeks: he/they, gay, demiboy<br/>- pitts: he/him, pansexual, cis<br/>- devon: she/they/he, bisexual, genderqueer<br/>- stick: they/he, gay, non-binary<br/>- spaz: he/him, gay, cis<br/>- gloria: she/her, bisexual, trans<br/>- tina: she/they, bisexual, demigirl<br/>- beans: he/they, gay, demiboy<br/>- hopkins: he/him, pansexual, cis<br/>- elle: they/them, lesbian, non-binary<br/>- jacob: he/they, bisexual, demiboy<br/>- emmett: he/him, asexual-homoromantic, cis</p><p>i love all of y'all!<br/>- jay &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"No fuckin' way, man!" Charlie Dalton stubbornly exclaimed. "<em>I'm </em>Persephone, which means that <em>you </em>would be Eurydice."</p><p>If there were one single day of the year that could inch even remotely <em>close </em>to The Last Tuesday of January, it was certainly The First Monday of February, which was specifically reserved for two main events and <em>Two Main Events <span class="u">Only</span></em>; the posting of the cast list and the very first table read.</p><p>Naturally, Neil's clan of friends were passing the time between their daily class dismissal of 3:25 pm and the <em>exact </em>time of 4:44 pm, which Spaz had solemnly pledged to be the very minute in which the cast list would <em>pop up</em> next to the amphitheater doors.</p><p>It was 4:23, so naturally, Charlie and Ginny had already begun arguing which character each of them best represented in the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.</p><p>"Oh<em>...oh, shee-it</em>." an eerily familiar voice mumbled from just on the edge of Neil's hearing radius. Abruptly, Charlie's attention flicked away from debating his close friend to the erratic stare of their lingering ex-boyfriend.</p><p>"<em>Hah</em>," Charlie's tone was so slyly venomous that Neil's subconscious was automatically sending itself into damage control mode. "I'm <em>sah</em>-rry, Knox; I don't think that Little Bitch will be an offered role in this production."</p><p>From behind the Dalton teen, their group of pals collectively rolled their eyes. Once upon a Final Year of Middle School, Charlie and Knox dated from the eighth grade dance until an incredibly-memorable sequence of disasters in their junior year. In fact, the series of moments were so strange and discombobulated that even Neil, a natural-born social mediator with a knack for sticking himself to even the most inexplicable of facts could not seem to remember them. Amidst the aftershocks of this blowout, the gigantic clan of fifteen (including Spaz, Beans, Elle and Beans' childhood companion, Hopkins) thespians divided themselves out in one of the most <em>cliche </em>manners of all time; into two rivaling social groups.</p><p>Knox had his people, whom Neil had nicknamed<em> Porcupines </em>for their underdog-positioning, cute appearances and often shockingly-spiky attitudes. The <em>Porcupines </em>were made up of Knox himself, the boy's childhood friend, Chris (who frequently would have Knox serve as her beard for her unsuspecting family), Chris's witty lab partner Meeks, Knox's debate team co-captain Stick, along with two of Chris's close buddies, spunky, athletic Tina and academic starlet Marisa. The most recent addition to their pack was Todd, who Knox befriended almost <em>on the spot </em>after Todd starred alongside him in the fall production of <em>Death of a Salesman</em>. It was a staging which saw Knox as Willy Loman, Marisa as Linda, Todd as Biff, Stick as Happy, Meeks as Charley, Pitts as Bernard and Marisa's twin sister Emaline as The Woman. Most of Charlie's friends were behind the scenes of the play, with Neil spending time off as an actor after a summer larynx injury and opting instead to serve as lighting captain, so in an act of solidarity, his pals did the same, with Charlie heading up sound and Gloria working on makeup and hairstyling - along with Chris, who simply wanted to be on that team for the experience. Other members of the crews included stage managers Spaz and Elle, vocal captain Beans, choreographer Hopkins and set designer Marisa.</p><p>On the other hand, there was Charlie's feral entourage, whom Neil referred to as the <em>Armadillos</em>, since a majority of them had small statures, but consistently remained sharply feisty and, in many different ways, harder to notice than most. They consisted of Charlie themself, Neil (who had known Charlie since they were a pair of kindergarten runts), Neil's next-door neighbor Ginny, Charlie's longtime mathematics tutor Gloria, the universally-beloved Pitts and Ginny's surprisingly-intellectual twin brother, Chet.</p><p>And, well, like many high school social circles, there were those who slipped in and out of both groups easily, who most frequently refused or avoided labels from either side. Neil referred to them as <em>Alternates</em> - they included Spaz (who would usually attempt to split his time, but he would almost always align himself with the <em>Porcupines </em>to please his longtime partner, Stick), Beans, Hopkins, Elle and their twin siblings, Jacob and Emmett.</p><p>"C'mon, guys, can you <em>please</em> just can it?" Neil pleaded, earning him an incredulous gaze from both Knox and Charlie. "For <em>me</em>? For <em>everyoneee</em>? I mean, at least during the <span class="u">musical</span><em>.</em>"</p><p>"What-<em>ever</em>," Knox grumbled. "I'll do it if-" </p><p>He paused himself slightly to side-eye his former partner, sparing them a few seconds that they left up in the air to reciprocate the gesture in some way.</p><p>"If <em>they </em>can stop being a bitch."</p><p>Rather than face their best friend's wrath, Charlie breathed out a <em>fuck </em>and leaned forward, begrudgingly gripping onto Knox's hand and coldly shaking it.</p><p>"Great!" Neil exclaimed, wearing a wide grin. "Now, can we all have some <em>fun </em>together before Spaz creates total chao-"</p><p>Before the words could gradually come slipping out of Neil's mouth, a shrill gasp threw him off completely, as a thoroughly-shocked Todd seamlessly emerged from behind Knox.</p><p>"Guys!" they exclaimed, gesturing to the amphitheater doors and drawing the teenagers' collective attention over towards a devious-looking Spaz.</p><p>In a smooth sequence, Neil slapped his line of vision over to the entrance, then his watch, then over to Todd and finally, perfectly completing three rapid objectives in a span of around five seconds.</p><p>"Four thirty-<em>four</em>," he sneered, despite the small smile dancing across his lips. "You're early, Longfellow."</p><p>Wordlessly, Spaz mirrored the expression. "You're welcome."</p><p>Without a second sound, they flattened the last piece of tape on the squeaky-clean sheet of white paper and bolted, leaving their peers to murmur amongst themselves. From the front of the chaos, Neil snatched up the paper and spoke in a very...well, <em>neutral</em><em>ly</em><em>-volumed </em>voice.</p><p>"Todd," he spoke, tossing the sheet towards his new friend. "As the new kid, how about ya do the honors?"</p><p>Rather than ruining the subtle moment, Todd silently locked eyes with the Perry boy and smiled, taking him up on the offer while his vision wandered to the jumble of letters laying on his own hands.  </p><p>And oh <em>boy</em>, was it a <span class="u">lo</span><span class="u">t</span>.</p><p>Without a second thought after finishing the reading, Todd flipped the paper over, breathing heavily.</p><p> </p><p>Surprisingly, the first person to speak was the naturally-timid Stick. "Well?"</p><p>Todd inhaled sharply, battling with an overjoyed smile. "I'll read the full main cast, bottom to top."</p><p>Collectively, the growing crowd around him nodded in agreement.</p><p>"Adult men..." his voice was picking up sound as the hallway grew silent. "Noah Stickler."</p><p>Despite the disappointment rapidly swelling in his eyes, Stick nodded and Todd began to continue on.</p><p>"Adult women - Marisa Keane."</p><p>Marisa nearly exactly mirrored Stick's expression, yet her emotions seemed to wordlessly say that she was used to this disappointment, somehow.</p><p>"Anna - Emaline Keane."</p><p>This time around, it was certainly refreshing to see the person on the receiving end of the announcement flashing a satisfied grin.</p><p>"Thea - Tina Alexander."</p><p>Upon hearing those three magical words, Tina's head tilted upwards and her eyes flashed brightly with joy.</p><p>"Otto Lammermeier - Gerard Pitts."</p><p>Even though he was barely containing his pride, Gerard swallowed a <em>WOOHOO </em>and instead opted to spread a smile across his closed lips.</p><p>"Georg Zirschnitz - Steven Meeks."</p><p>Without a second thought, Charlie placed a pat on their close friend's back as though they were a proud parent.</p><p>"Ernst Robel - Charlie Dalton."</p><p>The disappointment painted across Charlie's face was clear as they kept their teeth clenched together, containing themself from releasing a groan of exasperation.</p><p>"Martha Bessell - Gloria Browning."</p><p>A smirk climbed across Gloria's lips as her friends all made their euphoria apparent by gathering around her and joining together in a mass cheer.</p><p>"Hanschen Rilow - Knox Overstreet."</p><p>Out of the blue, Knox's eyes widened as his pals - including Todd - gradually harmonized on a wondrous chorus of <em>WOOP</em>s and <em>FUCK YEAH!</em>s. However, the boy's abrupt expression altering was, well, not exactly for the reason they were expecting as Charlie's face burned with anxiousness. They would have to pretend to be <em>lovers</em>, in front of <em>everyone</em> - their friends, teachers, family, the college scouts...you name 'em.</p><p>"Ilse Neumann..." for the first time in the announcement, Todd paused in order to wipe off his own pride. "...Chris Noel."</p><p>The Porcupines all immediately clambered towards and attacked her, wrapping the small girl into one of the warmest, sweetest embraces she had ever - and maybe <em>will ever </em>- experienced in her entire life. And yet, nothing would prepare the buddies for Todd's next statement.</p><p>"Moritz Stiefel - Todd Anderson."</p><p>A fine mixture of both fear and overwhelming joy set into Todd's face as his companions raced towards him, nearly tackling the kid to the ground as they released almost inhuman screams of excitement and pure glory. <em>God, </em>Todd thought, pain afflicting his cheeks from the simper tightly gripping his lower face. <em>Is this what I was <span class="u">missing</span></em> <em>at Balincrest</em>? Once they had settled a bit, Todd sighed slightly and spoke again.</p><p>"Wendla Bergmann - Ginny Danburry." </p><p>The Armadillos had almost the exact same reaction to this as the group beforehand as they nearly took down the teenager in their friendly attack on them.</p><p>"And finally," Todd said. "May I have a drumroll, everyone, please?"</p><p>Obeying, the theatre kids surrounding him came together in a fine harmony of smacks.</p><p>"Melchior Gabor...Neil Perry," before the Armadillos could think to crank up the chaos, Todd was speaking again. "Congratulations, guys!"</p><p>Rather than facing the built-up rampage, Todd flipped his direction around and began wandering his way towards the dormitory buildings before a sweetly familiar touch made contact with his unknowing shoulder.</p><p>"Hey, Anderson," Neil was speaking in a low, softened tone. "Wait up. I need a favor."</p><p>Silently, Todd stared up towards his refreshing new companion and awaited his next statement.</p><p>"My friends, <em>uh</em>," he muttered. "They'll all be doing their own things during, um, the time before rehearsal. What I wanted to ask you was...do you want to come back to my dorm with me?"</p>
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